Excessive, even obsessive, rumination is certainly a problem shared by the baseball-playing characters of “A Swing and a Miss,” a fun, watchable new play in which off-field relationship issues share equal billing with on-field exploits. An original dinner theater production of TheatreNOW (featuring the “ballpark fancy” fare of chef Denise Gordon) written and directed by Zach Hanner, it makes a couple of errors but ultimately wills itself to a successful outcome.

The story concerns the star players of the Wilmington Sharks – a longtime local fixture of the Coastal Plain League, the real-life team gave this production its blessing and even lent it some equipment and props. Seems the Sharks are on the cusp of a championship game seven with the Columbia Blowfish, a slightly nervous-making proposition given that the Wilmington squad was once up 3-0 in the series. Causing the Sharks' players to lose “focus” (a word hammered home by their crusty, mutton-chopped coach, Buck Hundley, played by Ron Hasson) are an array of problems, some serious, some less so.

Star pitcher Johnny “Rocket” Crump (Anthony Corvino) desperately wants to up his family's kid count from two to three, but his wife (played by Anna Gamel) is done with breeding. Former major league slugger Dylan Latimer (Chase Harrison, playing another in his series of abrasive boneheads – here, he seems to be channeling Kenny Powers from HBO's “Eastbound & Down”) is seriously dating one of the world's hottest actresses (also played by Gamel) but can't stop thinking about trying to get her into a ménage a trois. Rookie Chad Slater (Matt Taylor) is being stalked by a wacky young lady (played, yet again, by Anna Gamel) who's either harmlessly annoying or is getting ready to go all “The Natural” on him.

As the game progresses – Hanner uses “slo-mo” to great effect here, and Corvino shows off believable pitching mannerisms – we get inside the players' heads as they think back on how their various relationships got to where they were at game time.

Hanner admits to being more of a basketball fan than a baseball fan, and while he mostly gets the game and its nuances right, the occasional detail doesn't ring true. I have no idea what kind of league this fictional CPL is, for example. It's not college summer league, like in the real-life CPL, so maybe it's some level of the minors or an independent league.

It probably doesn't matter anyway, because Hanner gives the play a solid dramatic structure. Thanks to some clever lines (Vicky Cross, the stalker, is @PrayingMantis on Twitter) and solid performances (Taylor is clearly the theatrical rookie of the bunch, but he has his moments), it consistently entertains. Gamel does a particularly nice job of making her three characters distinct, even if her take on “crazy” is a bit much at times.

A video component of the play featuring Hanner delivering exposition as a sportscaster looks professional enough, but shooting it in fully empty stands when it's supposed to be a reasonably well-attended championship game takes us out of the story.

Still, Hanner's depictions of relationship squabbles are spot-on, and there's a truly surprising twist (or three) that delivers a feel-good ending along with a message about doing the right thing and being satisfied with what you have in life.

Speaking of satisfaction, that's what chef Gordon's menu mostly delivers. A starter of a pretzel dog – a hot dog wrapped in pretzel dough (you can choose a salad instead) – is a cool idea that could've been amazingly awesome if it had been more of crusty, meaty, salty, Dijon-slathered thing of beauty instead of a mildy tasty, mustardy curiosity.

A grilled chicken breast stuffed with house-made chicken sausage came with a deliciously sweet and tangy drunken barbecue sauce that mixed oh-so-nicely with sides of sweet potato, corn and red onion hash. My chicken breast could've been slightly more moist, but that nummy sauce made up for it. A hearty apple tart will send you home full.

All in all, “A Swing and a Miss” isn't a home run, exactly. But it certainly makes solid contact on a number of different levels.